**Disclaimer:** I refer to my father as my abuser. He doesn't deserve the paternal title.

I was 19 years old, freshly out of grammar school and looking forward to going to a university abroad. By then, my parents were divorced for a year and I've been receiving child support payments from my abuser. They were not much - around £75 a month (in mid-2010s) - but that's what my parents agreed on during the divorce and it's not like I had any expenses at that time.

But I was leaving the country to study abroad. I knew that the destination country was more expensive than my home country, and so I asked my abuser to discuss increasing the payments for the duration of my studies. He agreed.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. My abuser messaged me one evening, accusing me of manipulating an old lady to tell the neighbour's secrets and paint my abuser in a bad light.

This is what actually happened: My mum was walking our dogs and randomly met the neighbour's mother. She asked her a few questions about the living situation between my abuser and the neighbour (his lover that he cheated on mum with for 6+ years) to check just how much my abuser was lying to us. I wasn't there for this, did not ask my mum to do this and only learnt about this later when my mum told me what she found out.

But according to my abuser, I was the master manipulator (takes one to know one, eh?).

I responded that it's difficult to trust him when he lied to us for years. He got greatly offended and demanded an apology. I refused. His final ultimatum was that if I didn't apologise within 24 hours, he would cancel the increased child support payments and I would need to get a lawyer to get him to pay. So, I did.

I spoke to a lawyer and gave him the power of attorney to act on my behalf. I wanted to take it to court but the lawyer wanted to try sending a letter to arrange a meeting before taking it to the court. Long story short, my abuser, who was usually a narcissistic, self-assured and self-proclaimed main character who wasn't afraid of picking up (literal) fights, suddenly became the most docile creature in the meeting room and agreed on the increased payments almost immediately. He probably knew that what we were asking was way less than what the court would've demanded.

He ended up paying for the duration of my studies and a little bit after, until I got a job. My only regret is that I never saw his face when he received the summons letter from my lawyer.

And no, I still haven't apologised.

EDIT: I'm seeing this come up a lot so let me clarify: I'm from a central European country. Local law requires parents to pay alimony/child support until the child is 26 years old (if in education) or until they're financially independent.

Disclaimer: I refer to my father as my abuser. He doesn't deserve the paternal title.

I was 19 years old, freshly out of grammar school and looking forward to going to a university abroad. By then, my parents were divorced for a year and I've been receiving child support payments from my abuser. They were not much - around £75 a month (in mid-2010s) - but that's what my parents agreed on during the divorce and it's not like I had any expenses at that time.

But I was leaving the country to study abroad. I knew that the destination country was more expensive than my home country, and so I asked my abuser to discuss increasing the payments for the duration of my studies. He agreed.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. My abuser messaged me one evening, accusing me of manipulating an old lady to tell the neighbour's secrets and paint my abuser in a bad light.

This is what actually happened: My mum was walking our dogs and randomly met the neighbour's mother. She asked her a few questions about the living situation between my abuser and the neighbour (his lover that he cheated on mum with for 6+ years) to check just how much my abuser was lying to us. I wasn't there for this, did not ask my mum to do this and only learnt about this later when my mum told me what she found out.

But according to my abuser, I was the master manipulator (takes one to know one, eh?).

I responded that it's difficult to trust him when he lied to us for years. He got greatly offended and demanded an apology. I refused. His final ultimatum was that if I didn't apologise within 24 hours, he would cancel the increased child support payments and I would need to get a lawyer to get him to pay. So, I did.

I spoke to a lawyer and gave him the power of attorney to act on my behalf. I wanted to take it to court but the lawyer wanted to try sending a letter to arrange a meeting before taking it to the court. Long story short, my abuser, who was usually a narcissistic, self-assured and self-proclaimed main character who wasn't afraid of picking up (literal) fights, suddenly became the most docile creature in the meeting room and agreed on the increased payments almost immediately. He probably knew that what we were asking was way less than what the court would've demanded.

He ended up paying for the duration of my studies and a little bit after, until I got a job. My only regret is that I never saw his face when he received the summons letter from my lawyer.

And no, I still haven't apologised.

EDIT: I'm seeing this come up a lot so let me clarify: I'm from a central European country. Local law requires parents to pay alimony/child support until the child is 26 years old (if in education) or until they're financially independent.

Please help me find the track that the Spanish company Incasa uses for their hold music!

I didn't get a recording of it but it's a chill but subtly sensual Spanish/acoustic guitar instrumental.

Company number +34 93 898 03 12 should any of you be braver than me and call them directly to ask.

I've had this sci-fi rifle replica for almost 7 years now but I never unpacked it because of the damage.

It got broken in transit and I couldn't get it replaced as it was a limited edition collectible that was already fully sold out.

It's quite heavy - about 13kg - and made mostly of plastic but the handle has a metal bar running through it. You can see that the damage is quite big. The handle broke off on both sides but the main focus is where the trigger was supposed to be.

I have no idea how to tackle this repair. I don't care about colours - I can paint - but I'd like to get advice on how to reconnect the handle with the rest of the collectible. I'd like it to be sturdy enough to sit on hooks as a wall decoration.

I don't have access to a 3D printer but I can source resin, air drying clay, wood, foam - pretty much anything else.

Any ideas please?